The Dalai Lama gestures before speaking to students during a talk at Mumbai University February 18, 2011. (Photo Courtesy: REUTERS)

(TibetanReview.net, Mar27, 2018) – The Dalai Lama is said to have cancelled most of his foreign travels for the rest of this year due to his octogenarian age and tiredness. Earlier, the President of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), Sikyong Lobsang Sangay, had told the Tibetan Parliament in Exile during its Mar 14-24 session that the cancellation had nothing to do with any recent contact with China.

The Dalai Lama is exhausted and this has made it very difficult for him to commit to his intensive travel schedule, newsweek.com Mar 25 cited Mr Sonam Dagpo, the CTA’s foreign relations secretary as saying.

He has said the Dalai Lama had been invited to several countries but had cut down his public engagements due to his age. “He is exhausted after teaching for a long period of time. Therefore, a few commitments have been canceled.”

Dagpo has clarified, however, that the Dalai Lama’s health was not at risk and the cancellations had only been due to him being exhausted from what his teaching practices involved. He has said that while the ribbon cutting ceremonies and inaugurations only last a couple of hours, his teachings can last for several days.

The Dalai Lama most recently addressed a gathering at the Central Institute for Higher Tibetan Studies’ (CIHTS) on Mar 20. But a schedule section currently shows no further dates for the year, the report noted newsweek.com.

However, one visit said to be confirmed is to Switzerland in September for the 50th anniversary of the Tibet Institute at Rikon.

The report cited the CNN to point out that the exiled spiritual leader of Tibet, who will turn 83 in July, had traveled to eight foreign countries last year, compared to 16 the year before.

Though fully retired from politics in 2011, the Dalai Lama has made it clear that he will continue to take active interest to seek a solution to the Tibet issue with China.

Beijing has made it clear that it remains interested to talk, if at all, only with the Dalai Lama while insisting that there is no Tibet issue to be discussed.

Recent media reports in India said the Dalai Lama’s emissary Prof Samdhong Rinpoche, a former head of the CTA, had undertaken a clandestine visit to China in Nov 2017 and held talks with officials there. But this was later reported to have been denied by Samdhong Rinpoche himself.

And President Lobsang Sangay told the exile parliament that whether any visit did or did not take place was a personal matter to Samdhong Rinpoche. He also said any Tibetan discussing Tibet with China was required to take the CTA into confidence.